In Search Of Billy Pigg.

Wednesday morning at 10 AM and my day had just begun. I went out in my little garden to check on some of my sunflowers that I planted out yesterday. I was relieved to find that they seemed to be ok. I know you are not supposed to ‘cast a clout’ until May is out because of the danger of frost, but I am impatient. Then there was a knock at the front door. It was the postman with yet another CD. “That was quick”, I thought to myself because I had only ordered it two days ago. It is The Rough Guide To English Roots Music. I’ll tell you why I ordered it. When I was reading the excellent Richard Thompson autobiography a few days ago he mentioned lots of musicians whose work I knew well, but also many influential people who I had never heard of before. One of them had the great name of Billy Pigg. It was Dave Swarbrick who introduced Billy’s recordings to Richard. Billy Pigg was a Northumberland pipe player. Richard said he was a master and hearing him changed the way Richard Thompson thought about music. He said he was a folk version of Mozart. That aroused my interest. I had to find out more about Billy Pigg. Billy was born in 1902 and died in 1968. He began playing the Northumbrian small pipes at the age of 18. He won so many piping competitions that he was finally banned from entering them. I read that his recordings have a wildness and passion which is both inspiring and wholly distinctive. His originality of style and phrasing had the mark of genius and he was a huge influence on the younger generation of pipers.

That was enough for me. I knew I had to hear some Billy Pigg. Sorry Scottish people, but I have never been a big fan of Scottish bagpipe music. However, I do love the sound of the Irish Uilleann pipes. I think I first heard them played by Paddy Moloney on Mike Oldfield’s Ommadawn album in 1975, which led me to The Chieftains and other great Irish music. I also like the sound of the Northumberland pipes. I remember one magical afternoon about 30 years ago in the Acoustic tent at Glastonbury when I heard two great pipers. Firstly, Davy Spillane from Dublin who was a member of Moving Hearts at one time. He was followed by Kathryn Tickell who is a great piper and fiddle player from Northumberland. When I looked to see what Billy Pigg albums were available I was disappointed. I could only find a vinyl album called The Border Minstrel. That was no good to me because I haven’t got anything to play vinyl on. 

Then I stumbled across the compilation CD that arrived today. It included a medley of tunes by Billy called Gypsy’s Lullaby/ The Hawk/ Memories/ Coates Hall. As well as Billy there is 18 tracks of music by Eliza Carthy, The Oysterband, The Watersons, Martin Carthy, Rory McLeod, Dave Swarbrick, Edward 11, The Albion Band, Billy Bragg and other lesser-known people. There are a couple of tracks that sounded like they were recorded in the 1920s that were not really to my taste, but generally It is a great collection of lively Folk music. The kind of music that makes you wish you were at a Folk Festival in the summertime. Thank you very much Richard Thompson for leading me to the music of the legendary Billy Pigg.

The Protecting Veil.

It is Tuesday morning, and the sun is shining. It was nice yesterday as well. I went up town and outside Morrison’s they had plants for sale, so I bought two trays of assorted plants suitable for hanging baskets. When I got home, I made up four hanging baskets which I’ll show you when they grow a bit. I noticed that my white camellia is in bloom now as well. After that I sat outside the back door and soaked up the sun. My tiny yard is a little heat trap, even more so now that I have painted the wall white. I was listening to a CD of The Protecting Veil by the composer John Taverner which arrived recently. A couple of weeks ago when I wrote my piece about Arvo Part, a friend read it and suggested I might also enjoy this music. I do like it, very much indeed.

John Taverner

There is a connection between the two composers in that they were both members of the Russian Orthodox Church. The title of the music comes from an appearance of the Virgin Mary at a church in Constantinople in the 10^th century. At the time it occurred there was an invasion by the Saracens and Mary threw her protecting veil over the Christians which gave them the courage to repel the invaders. The Feast Of The Protecting Veil has been held ever since. The music is a composition for cello and strings and was commissioned by the BBC for the annual promenade concerts at the Royal Albert Hall. This recording was nominated for the prestigious Mercury Prize in 1992. 

Steven Isserlis.

It features the cellist Steven Isserlis. I love the sound of the cello which is played constantly throughout the 45 minutes of The Protecting Veil. The word serenity comes to mind when I try and think of words to describe this music. There is also a shorter piece called Thrinos (Lament) for solo cello. The recording is completed by a work by Benjamin Britten called Third Suite For Cello op 87 which I also enjoyed. In total there is 75 minutes of wonderful music which helped to make Monday afternoon a most enjoyable experience. John Taverner was knighted in 2000, two years after his work was performed at Princess Diana’s funeral. He sadly died aged 69 after years of ill health. His funeral was held at Winchester cathedral on 28 November 2013. The service was conducted in the Orthodox rite and 700 people attended. His legacy is the wonderful music, and I am grateful to my friend for recommending the work of John Taverner.